雙語 ● If It's a Good Idea...Don't Do It　如果事情只是個好主意——別去做

If It's a Good Idea...Don't Do It　如果事情只是個好主意——別去做

◎ Jonathan

For a long time, I’ve held the belief that if something is a good idea, it’s worth doing.

在很長一段時間里，我一直信奉一個信仰：如果有一個好主意，那就值得去做。

Now, I completely reject that notion.

現(xiàn)在，我完全反對這種觀念。

I just can’t operate that way anymore. I know better and my brain can’t be fooled.

我再也不能遵循這種模式了。我有了更深刻的了解，我的大腦再也不能被騙了。

In 2007 Tim Ferriss coined the term “work for work’s sake”. Since then, something worse has emerged: “improving for improvement’s sake.” (Honestly, this conundrum has probably been around for centuries. I just came up with it now because I desperately want to coin a phrase of my own, so I can be cool, too.) In other words: “improving for improvement’s sake” is doing something just because it’s a “good idea”.

2007年，蒂姆·費理斯提出了“為工作而工作”的概念。之后，更糟糕的觀點也出現(xiàn)了：“為改善而改善。”（老實說，這個難題可能已經(jīng)流傳了好幾個世紀了。我現(xiàn)在提出來是因為我也急著想要造一個詞，這樣我也可以“酷”一回了。）換句話說，“為改善而改善”之所以能被接受，正是因為它是一個“好主意”。

Yeah, I’ve been there, and what is neatly packaged as a “good idea” is often OCD and egotism in disguise.

是的，我感同身受，那些被巧妙包裝為“好主意”的東西常常是強加上的且是自以為是的。

It’s at that point where passion is ransacked and Ego reigns king of the hill.

結(jié)果，激情遭到蹂躪，自我膨脹到了極點。

There are many instances where passion can turn into just a good idea...

下面的諸多例子說明激情能變成“只是個好主意”……

1．Passions turns into obsession. When I first started learning Jeet Kune Do, I was incredibly excited. I’ve wanted to study martial arts since I first saw The Karate Kid at the ripe age of seven. So when I was presented the opportunity to learn the style of martial arts that Bruce Lee formed, I could barely contain my excitement (and, I’ll be honest, my nervousness at the thought of possibly sucking really bad). But when my ego got hold of me, it became hard to practice just because I felt I should; just because it was a “good idea”. In other words: I forgot about my passion and started aiming to improve simply for the sake of improvement.

① 激情變成困擾。當我開始學習截拳道時，我極其興奮。自從我第一次在七歲已能看懂《空手道小子》的時候，我就一直想學武術(shù)。所以當我有機會學習李小龍武術(shù)招式時，我?guī)缀鯚o法抑制我的興奮（而且，老實告訴你，一想起來我的神經(jīng)緊張得幾乎要崩潰）。但是，當自我的自負情緒將我包圍以后，練習就幾乎沒辦法再進行下去，而這僅僅因為我覺得我本該可以做好的，做這樣的練習本該是一種“好主意”。換言之，我忘了我的激情，滿腦子只是“為了強壯而強壯”。

2．Your love becomes your job. This seems like the most backward thing, right? I mean, in the beginning we complain that we don’t have enough time to do what we really care about, but when we’re presented the opportunity to make money from it, it becomes a turnoff. At first, it might seem exhilarating and thrilling for the chance to do what we love for a living. But after a while, that excitement tends to wear off and it becomes a chore. It’s a must instead of a fun option kind of thing. (A little later in this article we’ll get into why this happens and how to can get out of it.)

② 喜愛成為工作。這似乎是最丟人的事情，對不？我的意思是，在最初的時候，我們抱怨沒有足夠的時間去做我們真正關心的事情，但當我們一有機會可從中獲利，它就不再是原來的那回事了。乍一看，這似乎是令人興奮和刺激的機會，能為謀生去做我們所喜愛的工作。但是過了一段時間，那種興奮感逐漸消退后，它就往往變成一件苦差事了。它成為一件必須做的，而不是可以自由選擇的或是有趣的事情（稍后，在這篇文章中，我們會解釋這種事情發(fā)生的原因以及如何才能擺脫它）。

3．You mistake avoidance for apathy. We often think that because we’re avoiding doing what we love, it must not matter enough to us. Of course it matters! That very avoidance and fear is a sign that it does matter. But it’s hard not to let that fear discourage you and lead you to believe that because you’re avoiding it, you must not want it bad enough. If you let that happen, you forfeit your passion and the worst happens... It turns into just a good idea.

③ 錯誤回避冷漠。我們通常認為，因為我們回避做我們喜歡的事情，這對我們沒有太大的影響。當然它的影響大著呢！那種刻意的回避和恐懼恰恰就是“有影響”的信號。但是，這很難不讓恐懼阻止你并且讓你相信，因為你避開它，事情一定不會變得更糟。如果你讓這一切發(fā)生的話，你會喪失熱情，而最糟糕的事情也會發(fā)生……因為它只是一個“好主意”。

What’s happening here is one of two things: A.) Your passion is getting stifled somewhere along the way, or B.) You’ve simply lost interest.

下面的兩件事情哪一件會發(fā)生呢？A）你的熱情正在逐步被扼殺。B）你只是失去了興趣。

If the latter is the case and you’re supposed true love (with your new career pursuit, or whatever it may be), was simply infatuation, then you can safely let it go. There’s no point in clinging to goals that no longer serve you.

如果是后一種情況，而你真正喜愛的（你新的職業(yè)追求或可能的追求）只是一種迷戀而已，那么你大可放心地讓它去。沒有必要執(zhí)著于那些對你不再有用的事情。

If you can honestly say that you truly are passionate about whatever you’re aspiring to—and your spark was simply extinguished somewhere along the way—there is hope for you yet.

如果你可以真誠地說，你真正專注于你所渴望做的事情——而你的激情之火花只是在這過程中熄滅了，那你仍然是有希望的。

超多雙語閱讀，盡在聽力課堂